This Raging Light by Estelle Laure shows what exactly can go right when everything else in your life goes wrong.

Lucille’s current situation is not ideal. Her dad went crazy, her mom skipped town, and she has to take care of her little sister and all of the bills. Without anyone realizing that her life is completely falling apart.

Things get complicated when Lucille has to get a job and rely on her best friend and her best friend’s twin brother to take care of her sister while she finds a way to keep a roof over their heads. Not only does she have to pretend everything at home is perfectly normal, but she has to figure out a way to trick the adults in her life into thinking her mom is still around.

And then there’s Digby. She’s known him her whole life, but as they grew up together, her feelings have expanded. Even though he has a girlfriend and even though she’s can’t possibly add another complication in her life, she cannot stop feeling the way she does.

‘This Raging Light’ book review

If this is what Estelle Laure’s debut novel looks like, there’s no reason to doubt she will be a profound and prolific author. This Raging Light tackles a difficult subject, that of abandonment, and weaves threads of hope and happiness throughout the story in order to make it into something bright and beautiful.

Lucille is the perfect blend of tough and vulnerable. Becoming both the mother and father to your younger sister at the age of 17 is no easy feat, and yet she stumbles her way through the days and weeks and months of loneliness with a strange sort of grace, finding friends who will stop at nothing to help her. She can at once feel like she knows exactly what she’s doing and collapse on the porch with the overwhelming knowledge that she cannot do this alone. It’s what makes Lucille so tangible.

This is a love story, but it’s not just about Lucille and Digby. It tackles the complicated love found between sisters, friends, parents, neighbors, and even strangers. Every point of light Lucille finds is one more ray that brightens up her day and convinces her she can survive everything happening in her life. Above all else, it convinces Lucille not to go gentle into that good night.

This Raging Light is available now. You can add it to your Goodreads list, or purchase it from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound.